Whatever void there was from the lack of fans at this morning's practice was made up two-fold by the coaches.

Gone were the fan valentines: "I love you Reggie!" "Way to Stretch Drew!"

In came a different flavor of hollers: "PICK IT UP!!!" "I'm not telling you guys how to do this twice."

The longer practice went on this morning, the more heated it got - in temperature and emotion. By the end of practice, there were hoots and hollers from the players, friendly jawing, and not just a few sharp words from the coaches.

Defense, again, looked sharp this morning.

According to linebacker Scott Fujita, the unit is ahead of pace.

"It's been competitive and it's been fast," Fujita said. "A lot faster than it was last year. I think a lot of it has to do with just feeling more comfortable in the system and we're sharper so we can get in and get out. We're not on the practice field quite as long as we were at this time last year so everything just flows that well."

The morning wasn't complete without a little humor from cornerback Mike McKenzie, who has looked sharp thus far. McKenzie felt his personal space was a little violated on one of the drills and playfully turned to the media and said: "Man, ya'll see all that jersey" before turning to the receiving group and tossing out: "Is that what ya'll are teaching over there?"

So this morning's session went from very brisk and businesslike to spirited in the second hour of the almost two hour practice. The only thing missing was the fans.

"I enjoy that, I love having as many fans as possible," Fujita said. "I would like to see as many of them as possible up (at) Millsaps should we end up at Millsaps. I like having them around."